Sorting it out
by Nameless And Faceless
Summary: Just a bit of light interaction between Barney and Robin in the wake of The Leap.


**I'm not really much of a writer so be gentle heh. This is just a bit of light speculation on what I imagine the first real conversation between Barney and Robin might be like in the aftermath of "The Leap." I don't own any of the characters and there is no intent to infringe on anyone's copyright. So, yeah.. enjoy :)**

They sat in their usual booth at the bar, watching each other with a mixture of nervous energy and subdued affection. Two days had passed since Ted's not-a-birthday party. Two days since Barney's secret had come to light. Two days since the kiss. And finally, they were alone.

"Barney, I think we should --," Robin started in a rush.

"Robin, I know that this can't be --," Barney began at the same time. They both fell into silence, sheepish smiles curving their features. It was difficult to tell which was more nervous. Their eyes would meet and lock for a moment before one would get spooked and look away. They'd been doing it since that night, much to the amusement of their friends.

"You start," Robin said after a moment. It had been Barney to look away this time so she used that fact to bolster her courage enough to prompt him.

He nodded in response and took a deep drink of his scotch, steeling his frayed nerves. There was something boyish about him when he was nervous, she noted with a bit of amusement. He looked like a high school kid about to ask her to the prom. Had they been standing she was sure he'd have been shuffling his feet.

"Okay," he said after a minute "I know this is a lot to spring on you and I just want you to know that I'm not going to Ted out about this. No pressure. I just… I need you to know where I stand. You take all the time you need to figure out what you want."

She nodded gratefully, knowing that he was being honest with her. "I'm just not sure what you're looking for from me, Barney. You've always been clear about your position on relationships."

It wasn't often that anyone caught Barney when he wasn't in "awesome" mode. He sat before her at that moment as an almost completely different person. The lewd jokes and over the top humor were missing. The exaggerated mannerisms had been replaced by a quiet thoughtfulness as he contemplated her words. Those blue eyes met hers and this time, she was the first to blush and look down.

Despite looking away, she was pleased to see that he wasn't giving her some line. The thought of being with him was scary enough. If it was going to work at all, she had to know that he'd be real with her about the important things.

"We aren't like the others," he finally said "It wouldn't be right for either of us to pretend to be, Robin. We have to be realistic if we want this to work. You still want to travel. And you should. You are way too awesome not to be out there experiencing the world. I'm never going to be like Ted or Marshal. I have no idea if I am ever going to want to get married, much less have kids."

She opened her mouth to respond but he rushed on before she could manage. "I want to be with you, though. You and I, we just… we fit. It's been ten years since I wanted someone in my life the way I want you now. Whatever happens in the future, I think we can handle it if we're honest with each other. I hope so, anyway."

Watching his face as he spoke, she could easily see how difficult that little speech was for him to get through. Being that vulnerable wasn't easy for anyone. For someone like Barney, it had to be near torture. The fact that he'd opened himself up like that told her about his intentions more than what'd said had.

Still, this was scary as hell and she couldn't resist the urge to lighten the mood a little. "We should get married."

"This is a mistake," he responded automatically, eyes widening in panic "Let's be fri -- Damnit, Scherbatzky, stop that!"

She grinned at his laugh, relaxing a little. This was okay. They could still laugh and tease each other. She could do this.

"So you want to be together," she said once his laughter died out, waiting for his nod to go on "You know that means no more bimbos? All those doe eyed girls wandering the streets of New York waiting for you to fall on top of them? You really think you can resist the urge? I'm not going to pretend that doesn't worry me. Your track record is… what's the word? Legendary?"

"It's not a problem," he said confidently, then continued when she looked doubtful "I mean it, Robin. Bimbos were part of the adventure. My legendary," he winked at her as he said it "assault on life. But now, I think about what we could have and there's just no comparison. I'm not saying I won't be tempted or that I won't do something stupid sometimes because we both know I will. I can say that I'll never intentionally hurt you, though. We're going to be awesome together. I'm not going to risk that."

And there it was. All her instincts were telling her to get the hell out of there as fast as she could. Paris was nice. Maybe Greece. She shouldn't be thinking about him like she was. He was _Barney_ for God's sake. Her hysterical bro. The irreverent one. The guy with all the emotional baggage. The guy who was happiest when he was lying through his teeth to some air headed girl he'd never remember past the next morning.

The trouble was, he was also… _Barney._ The one that got her like no one else. The one who made her laugh when she was hurting. The guy who could be incredibly sweet and generous with his heart at the strangest times. The person she was completely comfortable with. The deliciously hot guy she thought about more than she'd ever admit to.

It wouldn't be casual. Whatever they said, they both knew it. There was too much there for it to be casual. If they started it was going to go somewhere that neither of them was fully prepared to deal with. That's where the risk was. This was either going to be amazing or she was going to get crushed. Maybe both.

_This could be amazing,_ she thought idly.

"It might be weird," she says instead, because she's Robin and that's what she does.

"You know it won't be," he grins, his nervousness seeming to dissolve as if he could read something in her. Damn him, he'd always been good at that. That grin of his was eager now. She could see an almost gleeful light in those big blue eyes. Those beautiful, openly vulnerable eyes.

They were staring into each others' eyes again. Seconds stretched out in a silence that shouldn't have been nearly as comfortable and pleasant as it actually was. His head tilted ever so slightly. Her pulse picked up, as did her breathing. Still they watched each other in silence, trapped in a moment. Caught up in the moment just before something life altering happened.

She found herself licking suddenly dry lips. _Oh God, this is really going to happen. _

"You know I'm going to freak out," she finally says. Then immediately curses herself for the breathy, girly quality of her voice. "A lot."

"So will I," he agreed, all to cheerful considering the seriousness of what they were discussing.

Maybe it was inevitable, she realizes. All that time, they'd been circling each other. Caught in each others' orbit. Dancing around an attraction that frightened them both. He'd opened up to it first but he hadn't been alone in feeling it. Nobody got her like Barney did. No one ever had. In his own strange way, he was the most real man she'd ever known. She wanted to know if it was amazing as she thought it might be, being with him. She wanted to know why he could make her feel like she was fine exactly as she was. Why he made her think that changing herself would be a crime. She just wanted him.

And she was tired of pretending she didn't.

"So," she grinned slowly. Having made her decision, she was free to enjoy the rush of excitement that crept up and washed over her fear. The fear would return, she was sure. But until it did she was going to enjoy the excitement. "How are we going to do this?"

His grin matched hers. He was positively beaming at her. "Stick with me, Scherbatzky," he said with a wink and a teasing leer that she couldn't help but laugh at. "I'm going to show you how to live. It's going to be Legen -- wait for it --…"


End file.
